The Theatre Times: Time has passed and even if Alegría does not capture the in depth artistry brought about by memory, desire and all that swirls in a mind returning to its past inspired by Fellini’s cinema that made Corteo so special, Alegría, created in 1994, did define a brand new circus aesthetic that has grown with the company, especially since its work in Las Vegas.
2 comments:
This is an immense pleasure to hear. My family have been fans of Cirque’s shows since my mother turned us onto local Pittsburgh performances, such as Totem, Toruk - the performance based on James Cameron’s Avatar, and more. Although I never saw Alegria live, I still have quite a fondness for the show.
As big as fans of the acrobatic and overall visually stunning performances as my family was, my mother bought many of the music CD’s of performances. This led to a minor obsessive listening of songs we enjoyed from CD’s, and what was the most listened to song, you may ask? Well, this show's title song itself, Alegria. Granted, I haven’t had the pleasure to see the visuals of this particular show, but I know the vocals too well by this point.
Moreover, my point is the fact that Cirque du Soleil is returning with their rebirth of Alegria both brings the performers and the fans, such as my family, back to their roots. It’s an immense thrill to hear this show is returning.
Cirque’s ability to not only stand the test of time and consistently put out such high quality work is incredible, but it says even more that they are able to bring back their original work, their “classics” so to speak, and have it be received as wonderfully as when it premiered is even more impressive. It always amazes me that reviews of their work have technical elements intertwined so heavily with a critique of the performance. It goes to show how well they have integrated all of the pieces to build a unified performance. I also find it so fascinating how the tone of a review changes when they are not calling out a specific performance by a “star”, like so often happens in plays and musicals. The attention given to the strengths of each group and moment of the piece reinforces the message of collaboration and all serving the one. It is wonderful that Cirque has again been able to mount another wonderful piece, and I hope to be able to see it.
Post a Comment